//------------------------------// // Superiority is Measured in Firepower // Story: Foreign Politics // by Zh3sh1re //------------------------------// The docks of Manehattan was rumbling, like they always were. Boats were unloading their cargo on the various decks, which consisted of spices, tobacco, sugar and various other foreign goods. Others were preparing to sail away to all across the world of, the ponies had named several hundred years ago, Equis, in hopes of finding new treasures to bring back to the peaceful superpower known as Equestria. *Clack* *Clack* *Clack* The captains four hooves clacked against the deck, as he looked around the royal flagship, The Castle. The various shipponies were trotting around, performing different kinds of tasks, readying the strong wooden vessel for any battle that might be looming on the horizon. The ship itself was made almost purely our of pockenholz, tied together by a few tons of the finest steel available. The ship had three lines of 42 gun ports, each one armed with a powerful ballista's with enchanted iron tips, capable of cutting through, then causing fires inside, even the toughest of ships. The ship was truly state of the art, as it contained one of the first ship shield-stones, officially known as Project Temple, but was nicknamed the changey-stones, capable of creating a bubble shield around the ship, capable of withstanding even the most terrible assaults. The technology was build upon the one that defended Canterlot against the changelings a year back, which is the cause for the nickname. Though it was a failure, the changey-stones was very good looking in all the tests, and were put into the ship only a few months after it's first stable platform. The captain nodded in satisfaction and walked up the stairs at the back of the ship, towards the wheel. The steerspony were checking the instruments and adjusting his course accordingly. "Anything new, steerspony?" The captain said with a commanding voice. "Nothing to report, captain. We have begun our patrol route towards Baltimare and Horseshoe Bay." The steerspony responded. "Good." The captain grinned, and went into the door furthest back on the ship, leading to his personal quarters. He looked around his, almost royal-looking quarters. He went over to the ice-box, and opened it. He reached into it and fished up a bottle of red wine. He grinned, thanking himself for bringing this. He popped the cork and poured a glass. He sat down and relaxed into the chair, smiling in content and slowly sipping the wine. He slowly raised the glass to his lips one more time- *CRACK* A very loud thunder-like sound echoed throughout Manehattan bay. The whole ship violently shook to the side, causing the captain to drop his glass on the floor, spilling it's content on the green carpet. He grit his teeth in anger and immediately proceeded to the door, leading to the deck. He smashed open the door and stepped out. "Alright, who is the smart-ass who-......" His eyes widened in shock as all the shipponies stood at the railings, looking out into the horizon, where a GIANT gray ship floated. He blinked several times, making sure he wasn't imagining. "Uh..." In all his years, he had never seen anything like it. He quickly snapped back to reality, and began to bark out orders. "ALL CREWPONIES READY FOR BATTLE!" The crew began sprinting to their posts, making themselves and the ship ready for engagement. The captain walked up to the steerpony. "Take us up to broadside. I want to know what kind of ship this is, and who it belongs to." He ordered. "Aye aye, captain!" The steerspony turned the giant wheel, moving the ship into a broadside course. The captain went over to the railing and raised his binocular, eyeing the strange vessel in the distance. The Castle slowly made it's way over to the side of the giant vessel, which was almost four times as big as The Castle. The side was adorned by a couple of very strange letters. On top of one of the many metal poles sticking up from the roof of the ship, a white flag flew, with a blue line at the bottom. A red star adorned the left side, and what looked like a hammer and a sickle crossed over each-other on the right. The captain gulped. "I want every ballista on this ship, loaded and ready for battle! Activate the shield!" He barked out over the ship. There was a loud shuffle, and several clicking sounds. The ship shook as the shield-stones activated, and a purple aura was formed around the ship. "All ballista's loaded and ready, sir!" A crewman shouted back. "Shield is ready to take tartarus agaisnt it, sir!" The ship-magical technician yelled. The captain was unsure of what to do and started to inspect the giant, gray vessel. It looked strange indeed. A loud hiss was heard from the giant vessel, and the sound of machinery rang in the captains ears. He gritted his teeth. One of the giant boxes with tubes sticking out of it started to move, and it seemed to aim at The Castle. The captain took this as a sign of aggression, and in his nervousness, he barked one of his last orders. "FIRE!" The order was initiated immediately, and the ballista's clicked off, firing their long harpoon-like spears towards the vessel. The air was soon filled with a sound of KLONK-like sounds, then small puffs of magical fire being started, Every single harpoon had hit.., The damage was non-existent. The harpoons had bounced harmlessly off the hull, and all the magical fire had managed to do was create small black patches on the heavy-duty steel. The captain could only gulp. The boxes stopped turning, and they found themselves aiming directly at the hull of the smaller wooden ship. The captains grin faded into a wide frown, knowing what was about to happen. On the other vessel, the Admiral known as Stepanov grinned in satisfaction. "Let's drop some lead on those mother-" He was interrupted by the fire command officer. "FIRE!" *CRACKA-BOOOOM* The Molotov fired it's three 180mm B-1-P cannons right into the hull of the smaller wooden vessel. The purple transparent shield cracked instantly and broke apart, and the ship exploded instantly in a colorful explosion of burning pony and ship parts. The only thing left was a few burning planks floating on the surface of the water. Stepanov smirked as he saw four more wooden battleships moving towards the Molotov, and he stood up. He walked over to the window and inspected the ships, which he proceeded to chuckle at. "It's time for a bit of a.... winter wrap-up." He smiled devilishly and sat down in the captain's chair yet again, tapping his fingers against the arm stead. "Full speed ahead. Take aim for the closest ship." He said casually. The guns flared, illuminating the entire bridge, and he smirked as one of the wooden ships disappeared into the depths of the harbor. "Boom...."